This week, clubs discovered their fate in the knockout phase of Europe’s top club competition. ..Continue Reading
Premier League leaders and six-time champions Liverpool are scheduled to face Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will meet PSV, and Aston Villa will go up against Club Brugge.
All-German and all-Spanish derby clashes include Bayer Leverkusen versus Bayern Munich and Real Madrid facing Atletico Madrid.
Additionally, 2023 finalists Inter Milan will take on Feyenoord, Lille will play Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona will face Benfica.
With so many exciting fixtures ahead, predicting a winner among the final 16 clubs is challenging.
However, Bettingexpert’s supercomputer BETSiE has run a simulation of the tournament 100,000 times to predict the winner.
The algorithm factors in last season’s fixtures, pre-season results, and current season progress and projections.
Liverpool, under Arne Slot, are slightly favored to progress over PSG with a 53.3 percent chance of winning in the last-16.
The Reds’ cumulative odds drop to 40.1 percent for the quarter-finals, 20 percent for the semi-finals, and 12.8 percent for winning a seventh title.
These odds rank Liverpool as the fourth favorites overall.
Serial winners and defending champions Real Madrid are the third favorites with a 14.4 percent chance of winning the entire competition.
Barcelona is in second place with a 15.2 percent chance of winning, given their favorable route to the final.
A surprise first-time win is predicted for Arsenal, with the Gunners having a 22.4 percent chance of winning the tournament.
Mikel Arteta’s side has an 87.3 percent probability of beating PSV in the last-16, a 53.3 percent chance of winning the quarter-finals, and a 33.1 percent chance of winning the semi-finals.
The club has reached the final once before, losing to Barcelona in 2006, and last made the semi-finals in 2009.
Aston Villa, in their first Champions League season since 1983, has just a 2.8 percent chance of winning the tournament.
The supercomputer predicts they will win their last-16 tie against Club Brugge with 83.8 percent odds.
However, the prospect of beating either PSG or Liverpool is unfavorable, with the probability dropping to 24.5 percent.
Last year’s finalist Dortmund has a 5.9 percent chance of making the final again, with just a 1.8 percent chance of winning.
Six clubs: Benfica (0.9 percent), Atletico Madrid (0.5 percent), Lille (0.1 percent), PSV (0.1 percent), Feyenoord (0.1 percent), and Brugge (0.0 percent) have less than one percent chance of winning, according to the simulations.
